03 February 2015

Against the Fire (Against Series/Raines of Wind Canyon, Book 2)

Synopsis
from Goodreads: You
can't fight what you can't see. And Gabriel Raines can't be sure just
who's setting the fires in his new real-estate development. When two
fires hit back-to-back, he knows it's personal, but any number of
competitors or ex-employees could be the arsonist.

The
police suspect Angel Ramirez, a local teen who's been in trouble
before. But Mattie Baker, a volunteer at the Family Abuse center,
just can't believe the kid she's been working with would go back to
his delinquent ways.

Determined
to convince Gabe that she's right, Mattie must get close to him and
find out who's putting their neighborhood in jeopardy. And just as
the arsonist's flames continue to burn, they find a heat developing
between them. It might just turn into a full-fledged fire if they can
survive long enough.

My
thoughts: Gabriel
Raines, the middle Raines brother, has a successful
construction/remodeling business in Dallas. He buys old properties
and restores them, and current projects underway when the book opens
include an historic theater and an apartment building that had been
condemned. Mattie Baker is a successful, award winning architect, who
puts in lots of hours at the office, but also finds time to volunteer
at a local family resource center, working with families who are
putting their lives back together after domestic abuse/violence. Like
Jackson in the first RAINES OF WIND CANYON book, Gabe is not
necessarily looking for a wife or a relationship and seems pretty
content with his life. Mattie was raised by a single mother after her
father died when she was young, and after seeing how her mother
struggled, and after a bad experience with an ex, she is determined
to never put her trust and reliance in another man. Like Sarah in the
first book, she is fiercely independent.

I
liked Gabe, though not quite as much as Jackson. Maybe because, even
though Gabe has a ranch, he doesn't actually spend much time at it,
and so he isn't really a rancher like Jackson. He is, however, former military. I also liked Mattie, and felt like I could relate to her
a little more than I had to Sarah.

Gabe
and Mattie meet at a police station, when a teenager is arrested for
setting a fire in one of Gabe's buildings. Mattie, who knows Angel
from her volunteer work, is convinced that Angel is innocent, and she
intends to prove it. So even though Gabe is the kind of man she'd
prefer to avoid being around, she inserts herself into the
investigation, insisting that he help her find the real arsonist.
Gabe is willing to give Angel the benefit of doubt, plus Mattie
intrigues him and he isn't averse to spending some time in her
company.

The
suspense in this second book was amped up a little more, and the plot
felt more tightly drawn and not quite as far fetched as the first
book. As the fires continue, Gabe and younger brother Dev compile a
suspect list, investigate or question suspects, cross them off, come
up with more suspects...I was never sure what direction the story
would take next, and had no clue who the real arsonist was until the
author actually introduced him to us, the reader, while still leaving
Gabe and everyone else in the dark.

And
of course amidst all the fires and investigating, Gabe and Mattie get
to know each other and get closer. Mattie, being afraid of falling
for someone, anyone, runs a little hot and cold, but when she
realizes she may have pushed Gabe away one too many times, she bucks
up and sets out to rectify that, rather than being all wishy washy.
Gabe accepts his growing feelings quicker than Mattie does, but is
plagued by doubts of whether she wants him or just wants him in bed.
They are very well suited to each other, and the culmination of their
relationship was quite satisfying.

Meanwhile,
there's a side plot with Gabe's best friend, Sam, courting Mattie's
best friend, Tracy, that was very sweet, but which left me asking why
they couldn't have had their own book instead of being secondary
characters here.

Very
enjoyable story, with some great characters and a suspenseful plot.

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I love books. I have over five thousand books, yet I do not have enough. I'm probably not the most reliable reviewer as I don't often come across anything I don't like, and a lot of what I read is not current. If you are looking for insightful or critical reviews, look somewhere else. These are not so much reviews as my thoughts on the books I read.

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